Semantics
by Luna Darkside
Summary: If things had gone a little differently that night... /an 100 ficlet series with an actual plot. will contain KidCon, KaiCon, & ShinKai./
1. Mellow

When the pain first started, it was a mellow pulsating, sort of dull and ignorable with Kudou Shinichi's mind still whirling form the knock on the head he had received minutes earlier.

But then it grew. Soon the pain was eating, biting, gnawing at Shinichi's very existence. It felt like his bones were melting, socializing calmly with his blood and skin and hair.

And then came the fire. Something akin to liquid fire, chewing at his skin, making it crawl as it suddenly seemed to become far too tight around his liquefied bones and his rushing blood...

Hi last thought before he fell into a deep, dark pit of unconsciousness was _I really shouldn't have come to Tropical Land._

* * *

**I have made the awful decision to try to complete an 100 prompt ficlet series with daily updates (if possible) while having a plot. I'm using a chart from livejournal, which I can link if anyone's interested.**

**Also, the entries will usually be longer than this.**


	2. Eternal

Kuroba Kaito stormed out of the entrance of Tropical Land, fuming and scaring the poor ticket girl positioned at the exit. "Damn that Aoko," he snarled under his breath as the girl stared confusedly after him. "She just had to go and bring up Kid and her damned views. Damn it all."

He had been expecting the day - his first official date with his childhood friend - to be a positively memorable experience, but it had turned out horribly. First Aoko had refused to go on any of the "scary" rides (the Mystery Coaster hardly qualified as a scary ride, for God's sake) and then she had purposefully spilled her entire jumbo-sized soda onto his lap as revenge for his mocking over her fear of the aforementioned "scary" ride. The disaster had rounded off with the ever-enthralling topic of Kid suddenly being brought up and Kaito being subjected to a rant on "that idiot thief."

After having heard enough, Kaito had finally snapped back at her and marched off. Because hey, it wasn't like he could explain to her, the daughter of Inspector Nakamori, that he was trying to stop an entirely evil organization from obtaining Pandora and eternal life; there was no way she would -

Kaito's mental rant came to a sudden halt when, on the verge of rounding a corner, he heard a groan from behind a dim, unmarked building positioned a few meters away. What was that?

The same sound, something of pure agony, came again, and now Kaito was sure he wasn't hearing things. Glancing around, he calculated the risks of looking over at the unidentified source. There was a chance that he could get into some sort of trouble if he went to investigate -

Another groan, this one somehow even louder and more pained. His goodwill quickly overpowering his apprehension, Kaito changed course and began striding quickly over. He rounded a corner and froze.

Because what he found was... surprising, to say the least.


	3. Subtle

There, on the grass, lay an still - scarily so - body, small and swaddled up in oversized clothes. From his position a couple meters away, Kaito couldn't see what the person looked like. He glanced around nervously, wondering what he should do in this situation.

The body suddenly gave a small twitch and a pained mewl, and Kaito instinctively hurried over, kneeling on the slightly damp carpet of grass. With a tentatively shaking hand, he reaching out and pulled back the folds of the green jacket that obscured the child's face. His eyebrows went up. The child, a young boy, probably around six or seven, was startlingly... er...

_Oh God, _Kaito thought despairingly. _Am I a pedophile?_

Still, he leaned down to examine the boy more carefully, absently picking him up. The large, childish face shone underneath a blanket of sweat, and though the face was relaxed in unconsciousness, the eyebrows had a subtle, upward slant, betraying some modicum of pain. Kaito suddenly realized that his left hand, which had been supporting the underside of the child's head, was coated in blood, the result of a newly-inflicted head wound.

_What the hell am I supposed to do? _Kaito wondered, feeling some panic starting to attack him. The kid would bleed out for a while if Kaito didn't do anything. He could take him to the security guards, but it might lead to some very awkward questions. And though he'd deny it, he didn't want to let go of the kid yet.

Kaito swallowed, looking down at the almost serene boy passed out in his arms. He would have to take care of the kid.

* * *

**I have been informed that these are not drabbles, as drabbles apparently are exactly 100 words and these are longer. Thus, Semantics shall be rechristened a ficlet series. Happy?**

**Anyway, you've got to hand it to me! I've a consistent updater for... three days. T_T**


	4. Cheat

Kaito readjusted the boy in his arms, glancing around as he dug around inside his pocket for his house key. His street was fairly quite around this time at night, but its residents were not so unconcerned about their neighbors to not gossip over the latest wife-turned-cheat or even an infamously eccentric male teenager taking a wounded six-year-old boy into his house. That would certainly cause a ripple.

Thankfully, the moment of scrambling for a key passed uneventfully, and Kaito managed to unlock the door and get into his house before anybody saw him. Fumbling in the dark for a moment, Kaito hit the light switch, almost dropping the boy as he did so. The entry was flooded with light, and Kaito glanced down at the child, noticing he could see quite a bit more of him with the addition of light.

He was small in stature, even for a six-year-old, and Kaito marveled at how, even when coated in blood, there was a small cowlick that stood up on the back of his head. The lean of his eyebrows had straightened out in the minutes it had taken Kaito to transport him to the Kuroba residence, which Kaito was quite happy to observe.

Shaking himself out of his admittedly disturbing thoughts (and shuddering - _seriously, was he a pedophile?!_), Kaito began to ascend the staircase. He suddenly paused halfway up, because the form in his arms stirred.

And Kaito froze as bright blue eyes slowly, sleepily, opened.

* * *

**This one was hard to write because I had no idea how to work in "cheat" without changing the tense, which is why it's quite unnatural in its placing. Sorry.**


	5. Transparent

There was a pounding inside his skull that was scaring Shinichi, and he flinched, eyelids slowly pulling up. He felt suspended in midair - an unusual sensation he almost attributed to the throbbing of his head but didn't due to the vividness of the feeling.

Suddenly all rational thought went whizzing out his ears as Shinichi's eyes snapped open at the realization that he was currently behind _held_ in the arms of someone who looked almost identical to himself. Furthermore, he seemed to be _swimming _in clothes he distinctly remembered to fit.

A gasp dragged off his lips as he began to struggle, panic overcoming his usual calculated logic, and the person, momentarily surprised, almost dropped him.

"Kid, kid, stop moving," the person ordered as he - _he?! _- reclaimed a grasp on Shinichi's arms and legs. "Look, I'll explain to you later." The stranger - who appeared to be a teenage boy with very messy hair - began to walk up a flight of stairs again, and Shinichi's panic only increased as he realized he was in an unknown house being carried by some stranger and was somehow feeling a lot smaller than usual.

Shinichi almost considered putting up a fight, but a sudden sharp pain echoed through his skull, and the desire instantly faded as he - _he, the great high school detective _- almost let out a whimper. Shinichi, horrified, bit it back, and the stranger glanced down, noticing the change in Shinichi's demeanor.

"Does your head hurt?" he asked in a surprisingly benevolent voice. Shinichi almost forgot to reply, because he suddenly was quite aware of the stranger's indigo eyes, which made him feel oddly transparent.

Suddenly remembering what was happening, Shinichi stammered - _why the hell was his voice so high? _- "Uh, I'm okay."

"That's good," the stranger said with a wide, almost familiar grin, and Shinichi let himself relax in his arms.

For some reason, Shinichi found himself wanting to trust him.

* * *

**AH! Didn't post yesterday, sorry, sorry. But to be fair, I was bedridden with the flu and my mother refused to bring me my laptop. Today I'm good enough to hobble to the computer.**


	6. Believable

By the time the two had reached the top of the stairs, however, all calm had begun to evaporate from Shinichi's now three-foot form. He was starting to realize that this situation was far more dangerous than he had previously assessed. First of all, why was he the size of a six-year-old? And then how had he become like that? How was he going to get his body back? And more importantly, who was this stranger who he felt he wanted to trust? Was he trustworthy, or was he an accomplice of those men in black, sent to disarm Shinichi and collect information?

All of these questions were spinning in Shinichi's head as he vaguely felt the stranger turning a bend, walking into a room, and stopping. Shinichi was suddenly aware that he was now being laid down - _breathtakingly gently_ - onto a comforter-draped bed.

"There, are you feeling better yet?" the messy-haired stranger asked, and Shinichi only blinked at him, momentarily at a loss for words before muttering an affirmative he didn't really agree with and tearing his gaze away.

He tentatively decided he could eliminate the possibility of the stranger being an accomplice of the men in black. It was illogical, he knew, but Shinichi _really_ wanted to trust the stranger with the indigo eyes... and that meant he couldn't drag him into the mess involving the men in black and his true identity.

He couldn't explain his situation honestly.

The revelation made Shinichi swallow.

The stranger, apparently unaware of Shinichi's inner turmoil, nodded, breaking into a well-worn grin. Shinichi had to hide a smirk at that - the stranger seemed to always be wearing a smile and a half. "That's good. I'm going to go get some bandages and maybe some water and then..." The smile seemed to hesitate on his lips before dropping straight off. "Then we'll talk, okay?"

Feeling something akin to nausea blossoming in his stomach, Shinichi gave a small jerk of his head as the stranger stood up, cast him one last look, and exited the room.

If he couldn't tell the truth, he was at least going to need a believable story.

* * *

**Thank you for all the well wishes~ I'm doing much better today. Anyway, this one is kind of weird. I had no idea where I was going with it.**


	7. Repeat

Kaito stood in the kitchen, staring blankly at the countertop as he held a cup underneath the water spout. To his left, he had placed a selection of bandages that he'd rummaged from the medicine cabinet as well as a bottle of painkillers. Overhead, he faintly heard the slight rustle of sheets as the small boy moved atop his bed.

The boy, to be honest, was disconcerting, to say the least. Kaito admittedly felt confused by the way his eyes seemed so excruciatingly familiar, yet not, and the way they carried far too much intelligence for a six-year-old.

Suddenly reacting to the fact that water was pouring over his hand as the cup calmly overflowed, Kaito jerked his hand out from underneath the stream of water, turned the faucet off, and dried it off on a dishcloth. He wiped the sides of the cup and headed back upstairs, readjusting a frown into a smile as he strolled back into his bedroom.

"So," Kaito said. The child's head was turned away from him, familiar-but-not gaze averted and hands clenched atop waves of fabric. Kaito couldn't contain the frown this time. He set down the water and medical supplies on the bedside table and dragged his desk chair over.

Sitting down softly, he stared down at the boy's cheek, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. "So -"

Kaito was startled out of speech when the boy suddenly moved, turning to look Kaito in the eye, a gesture that made Kaito shrink back. Those overly intelligent eyes were disorienting, all right.

"No need to repeat yourself," the child stated in a tone inflected with definitely too much maturity. "Let's have a talk."

* * *

**So I'm currently trying to write another oneshot in addition to this. It's not going all that amazingly. **


	8. Addicted

"No need to repeat yourself," Shinichi said, almost flinching at the completely unchildlike severity choking his words. "Let's have a talk."

There was a heavy pause.

And then Shinichi was slightly surprised as the stranger broke into a smile. Again, Shinichi had to notice the way he seemed to be addicted to wearing a that oversized grin. Shinichi almost wished he could be like that, carefree instead of careful and lighthearted instead of halfhearted. He also came to the startling revelation that he himself had donned a slight smirk at the sight of the other's smile, a surprising thing to notice.

"You're so serious for a kid," the stranger grinned, and before Shinichi could even widen his eyes, the stranger had placed a hand on Shinichi's head and ruffled his damp hair.

Shinichi, had he been in his sixteen-year-old body, most definitely would've slapped the hand away, but, as a six-year-old, he couldn't help but feel intensely comforted by the simple motion, unintentionally leaning towards the hand. He wondered if it was a side effect of having a younger body or if it was just the stranger...

"Anyway, you can start first," the stranger was saying as Shinichi refocused his attention. He sat back, lightly unraveling his hand from the tangles of Shinichi's sweat-gripped hair. "I do want to know how and why you were knocked out outside of Tropical Land, kid."

Shinichi gulped and began to speak.

* * *

**Yes, I keep drawing this part out. And yes, I forgot to update yesterday.**

** Also, I've noticed that I'm no longer getting reviews, and while I'm not much of a "REVIEW OR I DON'T CONTINUE" sort of person, it did kind of cause me to lose motivation.**

**Another thing: I'm going on vacation for a couple days, so I won't be posting tomorrow.**


	9. Write

Kaito watched the boy with an unreadable expression, trying to discern the lies from the truth. Obviously the boy was probably going to try to feed him some sort of bullshit, and he almost felt obliged to write down the kid's story in order to check for inconsistencies later.

"My name's Edogawa Conan," began the boy, Conan, apparently, eyes trained directly into Kaito's. Kaito was vaguely surprised at how his voice suddenly seemed more... childlike and less genius all of a sudden, but he was mostly lost in the blue of Conan's irises. In the back of his mind, he cursed his sudden affinity for six-year-old boys.

"Today I went to Tropical Land with some of my friends. It was... uh, Ayumi-chan's birthday," Conan continued, and Kaito again was entranced with the six-year-old lilt to the words. This Conan kid was either an incredible actor or telling the truth, and Kaito, a prodigious actor himself (with his night job, he kind of had to be), couldn't even tell which it was.

"I've always wanted to be a detective," exclaimed Conan, grinning and making Kaito raise an eyebrow as the thought _odd kid _passed through his head. "And I saw two men dressed in black, like bad guys, leaving the park, so I followed them out when my friends and the other people weren't watching. I saw one of the men giving another guy a suitcase with some paper in it, and then somebody hit me on the head really hard. I don't know what happened after that." He grabbed the back of his head with a small mewl.

"Where are your parents?" Kaito asked, after a short pause. The story _sounded_ decently logical, and Conan _seemed_ decently honest, but this was one rather important point.

Conan faltered for a moment before saying, "Mom and Dad went to America for something and they left me with a family friend, Professor Agasa..."

_Well then._ Kaito sat back, regarding Conan for a long moment.

* * *

**Sorry for the skipped day & this terrible chapter. I did have a lovely vacation, though.**


	10. Soulful

The stranger wasn't looking at Shinichi, and it was disturbing him. He knew his story was far too simple and still lacked an explanation for his oversized clothes, but in the few moments he had to come up with a cover story, he had decided that simple was probably most likely. He had, though, been forced to come up with a fake friend, and desperately hoped there were enough Ayumis around to strengthen his bluff.

It was a few minutes before the stranger spoke. "Okay, Conan-kun." He heaved a sigh, leaning over to ruffle Shinichi's hair again. "I believe you."

"Really?" Shinichi mustered a childlike grin, trying to ignore the feeling of comfort that bloomed inside his chest at the stranger's touch.

"I do. We've got to get you back to that professor as soon as possible, though," the stranger added. "You should really get some sleep, though. That head wound is no joke for a kid like you."

Biting back the "I'm not a goddamn kid!" that his tongue instantly conjured, Shinichi shifted his head so that the stranger's hand, which had been wrapped up in his hair, was able to carefully bandage his head. The bandage felt snug and uncomfortable around his temples and underneath his bangs, but Shinichi ignored it in favor for the feeling of contentment that came with the gentle motions of the stranger's fingers.

The stranger had risen to leave, having peeled back the blankets and covered Shinichi with them, and stood by the door, finger poised to switch off the light. "Good night," he started, but Shinichi interrupted with a question that had been gnawing at him.

"Um, onii-san... what's your name?" Seeing the odd expression on the stranger's face, Shinichi quickly continued, "Well, you haven't told me yet," and punctuated it with a childish pout.

The stranger laughed, though it sounded slightly forced. "I'm... my name is Kuroba Kaito."

"So... Kaito-niichan?" Shinichi wondered.

Kaito laughed again, this time sounding much more real. "You can just call me Kaito, okay? Good night, Conan-kun." With one last strangely soulful glance, he flicked off the lights and withdrew from the room. Shinichi heard his light footsteps patter into the neighboring room.

Hmm. Kuroba Kaito, Shinichi thought to himself. Interesting.

He fell asleep tasting the name, a small smile residing unconsciously on his lips.

* * *

**As promised, a Semantics update. I'm being forced to reconsider this series due to an incredible number of overlooked plot holes that require filling in.**


	11. Broken

Kaito lay on his back, staring up at the faded white paint on his ceiling through the murky darkness. He was looking so hard that he could almost distinguish the shallow lines of the paint strokes with the concentration he was putting in.

However, he wasn't quite registering it, being far too occupied with the army of thoughts running laps around in his head. And Edogawa Conan was present in almost all of those thoughts.

First off, he still hadn't resigned himself to believing in Conan's story. The two conflicting ideas that the the story was almost too simple yet still realistic were recycling through his his mind like a broken record, refusing to take a break.

And secondly, that familiarity that the kid seemed to own. It was like Kaito had seen him in a crowd, vowed not to forget his face, and then forgotten it. It was that kind of out-of-reach almost remembrance, there one moment and gone the next.

The third thought was less centered on Conan. He had his next heist tomorrow, but what if the kid hadn't left by the time he needed to leave? Even if Kaito forced himself to believe Conan, he could still tell Conan was much, much smarter than your average six-year-old. It wouldn't take him long to chisel away at the mystery of Kid's identity and end up with a perfect depiction of one Kuroba Kaito.

Kaito turned onto his side, his eyes latching onto the wall. Well, he had time to think about it.

* * *

**To foreverandeveralone: Me too XD. I'm kind of regretting this ficlet thing.**


	12. Stop Time

hinichi pressed the phone against his ear harder, waiting for the professor to pick up. It was five thirty in the morning, and while Shinichi knew there was a chance that Kaito was awake, he needed to take the risk before the teenager took him to the professor's house. As far as the professor knew, he didn't know a six-year-old named Edogawa Conan, and that was going to prove disastrous if not remedied.

The professor finally picked up, the termination of the ringing accompanied by a tired, "Hello?"

Shinichi nearly shouted into the phone. "Professor Agasa! It's me, Shinichi!"

"Huh...? Shinichi-kun, is it? It doesn't sound like you," came the sleep-ridden reply. "This is a joke, isn't it? I'm hanging up..."

"No! Stop! It's a long story - I've somehow reversed in age through being poisoned - but I need you to believe me! This is Kudou Shinichi, your neighbor! Kudou Yuusaku and Kudou Yukiko's son! I've known you all my life, and I know about the mole you've got on your -"

The professor's voice suddenly became crisp. "You know, do you? Shinichi-kun's been telling people, has he? I'm hanging up."

"You're Agasa Hiroshi, age 52! You invent gadgets that rarely ever work and last night you ate dinner at Columbo's!"

"What in the - How did you know that?!"

"You never get up earlier than seven on weekends, and today's Sunday. You most likely did not go to sleep last night, judging from how tired your voice sounds and that you answered the phone, which means that one of your experiments probably went wrong last night and forced you to pull an all-nighter in order to fix your house. Last night you were probably out, considering that if you had been home, an accident large enough to damage your house that badly probably would not have occurred. At your age, you most likely would not have gone out drinking or partying, and the only restaurants close enough to your house that you could hear explosions from are Poirot and Columbo. Given your affinity for Columbo's special meat sauce, you probably went there."

There was a pause. Then, "Shinichi-kun... is it really you?"

Smiling with relief, Shinichi answered, "Of course it's me! I'm coming to see you with a guy named Kaito later - the story I used is that I went to Tropical Land for Ayumi-chan's birthday, I followed some bad men out of the park, and got hit on the head for my troubles. Okay? Don't be surprised when we get there."

"Got it. See you then, Shinichi-kun," the professor agreed, and the line went dead.

Exhaling, Shinichi replaced the phone in its cradle. Now that that's settled down...

"Conan-kun?"

A jolt jumped through him, and Shinichi whirled, nearly tripping over his still-oversized pants. Kaito stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching him with a calm indigo gaze. A very knowing, dangerous gaze. "What are you doing at such an early hour?"

Shinichi desperately wanted to stop time.

* * *

**Yes, completely bullshit deduction. I never claimed to be a good mystery author, did I? ^_^;; Please disregard it and/or pretend it made sense.**


	13. Alcohol

Kaito's eyelids jerked upward as he gasped out a sound resembling, "OhmyGod!" As the horrific remnants of a dream involving an ice skating rink filled with a certain aquatic creature, mops, and Hakuba reluctantly retreated back into his mind and his heart rate began returning to normal, Kaito glanced around his room. It appeared that everything was as it should be - he was lying on his bed in his house, not hugging the wall of an ice skating rink with a mop-wielding Hakuba cackling behind him, and there were no... f-finny things in sight.

Pondering whether or not he had accidentally ingested a large amount alcohol the previous night and unwittingly induced such a nightmare, Kaito trudged into the bathroom, reintroduced his toothbrush to his teeth for a couple minutes, and started for the kitchen.

Suddenly he froze. From the hallway, he could hear a childlike yet serious voice saying something from inside.

"... for my troubles. Okay? Don't be surprised when we get there."

_Who is that? _It took Kaito a moment to place the voice - identifying it as Edogawa Conan's. _Who's he talking to?_

Deciding it might be best to simply ask the kid, Kaito turned into the kitchen, spotting Conan standing with one hand still on the phone.

"Conan-kun?" he called tentatively. The small figure jerked and whipped around, Conan's face arranged in an expression of surprise.

There was an awkward pause, during which Kaito stood there, watching the wide-eyed six-year-old with eyebrows raised, and Conan did the same, although he was mostly going a delicate pink and blinking while appearing to be at a loss for words.

"Kaito-niichan, good morning," the kid finally chirped, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to call Professor Agasa and tell him that we were going to go see him today!"

"Ah, I see." Kaito refrained from making any further comments as he started for the refrigerator. "I'll start preparing breakfast, then." As Conan gave another overenthusiastic response and flew out of the room, making airplane noises, Kaito let his grip on the refrigerator slacken.

His mind had been made up.

Edogawa Conan was most definitely not who he said he was.

* * *

**So I'm going to try to get back to daily updates. Let's see how grandly this fails.**


	14. Pauses

Shinichi was starting to sweat underneath Kaito's (mesmerizing) gaze. All throughout a breakfast riddled with awkward pauses and ever since, he had felt that gaze glued to him, boring holes into him, making him dizzy. It was strange how unsettled it was making Shinichi feel. It was normal for a teenager to be worried about a pretty much homeless child and to want to keep an eye on him, but Shinichi was starting to feel like Kaito's over-attentiveness was for a different reason. And he could only hope and pray that the other reason was _not _that he had already discovered Conan's real identity.

(He also tried to attribute the unusually fast thumping of his heart to nerves and not to some other reason he preferred not to think about.)

"Kaito-niichan, are we going now?" Shinichi outwardly asked, flawlessly childlike in his manner as he bounced up and down. After breakfast, Kaito had lent Shinichi some of his old clothes, and Shinichi was glad he could finally act completely childish without tripping over the overabundance of fabric his clothes provided.

Kaito smiled. "I guess we can. Do you know the way to the professor's house, Conan-kun?"

"Yes!" Shinichi grinned widely and bounded towards Kaito's front door. "We have to take the train!"

He didn't miss the burning sensation of a pair of indigo eyes on his back and the way his heart skipped one, two, three beats.

* * *

**This was all I could write with the awful headache I have. Let me just say that long night of editing videos + heaps of homework + minor cold = not good.**


	15. Affront

Kaito grasped Conan by the hand, leading him down the busy sidewalk. Conan bounced about like a balloon tethered only by that Kaito's grip, seeming ready to float off as he laughed and swatted at air. Kaito had to force himself to remember he had decided he would investigate the kid. It was hard to believe that this overenthusiastic child was the same serious-eyed one he'd rescued the night before.

"Left or right, Conan-kun?" Kaito asked, looking down at the child once the two had reached an intersection. According to Conan, this Professor Agasa lived in Beika, in the second district on block twenty-two.

However, Conan wasn't paying attention to him. He appeared to be entranced with a nearby newsstand. Tugging on Kaito's hand as he advanced on the stacks of newspapers and magazines, his eyebrows tipped down in a remarkably un-childlike expression. Kaito watched for a second before Conan turned on him. "Hey, Kaito-niichan, who's Kaitou Kid?"

Kaito choked. Not only was he surprised by the question, but if he was remembering correctly, even six-year-olds knew about Kaitou Kid. Crouching down and trying not to show the results of Conan's (probably) unintended affront to his ego, he answered, "Well, Conan-kun, he's a really famous magician thief. He steals gems and sends heist notes ahead, which are usually riddles alluding to how and what he intends to steal."

Conan raised an eyebrow, looking mildly intrigued. "Oh. This newspaper says he's going to have a heist tonight, doesn't it?"

Gulping, Kaito nodded. "Yes, that's what the Kid force thinks, at least."

Glancing over at him, Conan wondered, "Kaito-niichan, are you a Kid fan?"

"Ah, yes. Maybe the biggest," Kaito answered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable underneath Conan's wide-eyed azure gaze, the one that held far too much maturity and left him breathless.

He quickly turned away. _If a six-year-old's _gaze _makes me _breathless_, does that mean I'm a..._

Oblivious to Kaito's crisis, Conan offhandedly commented, "I'll see if I can go to the heist tonight. It sounds like fun, huh, Kaito-niichan?"

And just like that, Kaito's ability to breathe abandoned him.

* * *

**Hey, if you're enjoying this, would you mind leaving me a review? This isn't exactly one of my favorite things to write, so if I don't have a ton of support, I'm considering dropping it.**


	16. Run

The rest of the way to Professor Agasa's house, Kaito was oddly quietly, keeping his eyes trained elsewhere and only giving him a halfhearted sort of smile at Shinichi's childish antics. Shinichi could only wonder why.

In a flash of inspiration, Shinichi realized that his silence had started right after he had mentioned attending Kid's heist. He narrowed his eyes. _Could it be he's somehow related to Kid's civilian identity? _he mused as they finally drew to a stop. Kaito was peered down at him somewhat questioningly. "Is this it, Conan-kun?" he asked.

Glancing up at the familiar house and cringing at the fact that parts of it appeared to be sagging while others were charred and blackened, Shinichi forced a grin. "Yeah!" he shouted, breaking into a run as he gently disentangled his hand from Kaito's. "I'm going ahead!"

Reaching the door, Shinichi threw it open and called, "Professor!" in a low whisper, scanning the burnt room frantically.

The professor materialized around a corner, eyebrows rising as he caught sight of Shinichi's shrunken form. "Shinichi-kun, is that really you?"

"Yes! It's me!" snapped Shinichi, nerves strung tight as he heard Kaito's footsteps approaching slowly. "Kaito is right behind me, so we need to discuss everything -"

"Wait, Shinichi-kun, before you go on, I should probably tell you that Ran-kun has been calling around for you ever since last night," the professor interrupted.

Shinichi winced. _Dammit, I didn't even think about Ran! _Opening his mouth, he started, "That can wait till later -"

Suddenly, as if summoned by the mention of its owner, a female voice walked in through the open front door. "Professor Agasa, who's this guy?"

Eyes widening, Shinichi whirled just in time to see both Kaito and Mouri Ran entering the room.

* * *

**Well, there are more people interested in this than I thought. I suppose I'll continue to at least #20.**


	17. Experience

Shinichi stood, blinking, for a long pause as Ran eyed Kaito curiously. "So, Professor, who is this guy?"

"Ah... er..." The professor unhelpfully looked down at Shinichi for help, drawing Ran's eyes down to him. Shinichi froze as she watched him with wide eyes. _Oh God, she's going to recognize me! _He could heard blood rushing past his ears as Ran slowly advanced on him, wearing a blank expression. Kneeling in front of him, she placed her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes.

Shinichi's brain was shutting down. His eyelids dropped down. _This is the end, _he decided, readying himself to experience a world of pain. _She's going to realize that I'm Shinichi and kill me for not telling her -_

His eyes shot back open as Ran squealed, "Awww! What a cute kid!" and threw her arms around him, smothering him into her chest.

On a normal day, Shinichi might've appreciated this act, but currently, he was finding it difficult to breathe. Choking, Shinichi stood agape, looking to Kaito and the professor in a plea for help (neither answered his plea. Kaito stood looking nonchalant and aloof while the professor gawped). It was a few moments before Ran pulled back, smiling widely.

And then, still wearing that smile, she asked the dreaded question. "Who is he, Professor?"

* * *

**Filler chapter.**


	18. Fatality

Kaito didn't know why, but he could feel himself growing irritated with that random (albeit pretty) girl as she clutched Conan to her chest. He twitched, crossing his arms over his own chest. Conan was sending him a helpless look, but he could only stand with an icy expression.

_What is wrong with me? _he wondered, glaring down at his shoes as his arms tightened at the small sounds of protestation Conan was giving. _Am I... jealous? Of Conan? Or... could it be...?_

The thought was (thankfully) left unfinished as the girl pulled back, beaming. Glancing over at professor, she asked, "Who is he, Professor?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow, noticing the apparent fatality of this particular question as both Conan and the professor stiffened. _Just another clue to support my theory that Conan isn't who he says he is, _he decided inwardly.

After a long, fairly suspicious pause filled with Conan staring violently at him, the professor finally explained, "A-Ah, he's my... a distant relative. He's... been staying with me."

The girl frowned, pouting. "Well, Shinichi didn't tell me that such an adorable child was staying with you! That mystery freak!" Kaito, gaze sliding down to Conan, was surprised to see the small smile evident on the six-year-old's face, one traced with fondness and a dab of sadness.

Kaito's chest seemed to constrict. He let out a small cough to release the feeling, only succeeding in increasing the feeling and drawing the professor's, the girl's, and Conan's attention to him. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"Oh, I forgot about you. So who are you?" the girl asked.

* * *

**Sorry for the skipped day! Here's another filler-ish chapter.**


	19. Helping Hand

Blinking at the receiving end of the girl's piercing gaze, Kaito stuttered, "Well, I, uh, I'm... I'm just..." He looked over at Conan, his only possible ally, for a helping hand, but the kid looked too freaked out to be of much use, shooting daggers at the professor with frantic azure eyes.

A sigh escaped Kaito's lips. Turning back to the eyebrow-raising brunette, he said, "I'm... My name's Kuroba Kaito, and I found Conan-kun last night...?"

"Mouri Ran," the girl told him before dubiously saying, "You... found him? This child?" The girl looked down at Conan. "How? Where?"

"Outside of..." Kaito began, but cut himself off as Conan began flapping wildly at him, his eyes screaming, _Don't you _dare _say it!_

Perplexed, Kaito looked back at Ran, who was growing more and more suspicious. "I... somewhere...?" At her glare, he added, "...In the universe?"

Looking irate, the girl folded her arms across her chest. "I can tell both of you are hiding something from me, and I'm not in the mood for it. Shinichi -" (Kaito noticed how Conan cringed, looking as if he was in excruciating pain at the mention of whoever Shinichi was) "- left me last night, and I haven't heard about him since! God, that idiot!"

By the end of her sentence, Conan looked ready to die, staring at the floor while grinding his teeth.

Finding his reaction rather interesting, Kaito queried, "Hey, Mouri-san, who's this Shinichi person? You've mentioned him a couple times already."

* * *

**NEEDED: Person who can help me plan the rest of this fic & who can give me advice/help on Black Organization confrontations. Fit the description? PM me. :D**


	20. Breeze

"Hey, Mouri-san, who's this Shinichi person? You've mentioned him a couple times already."

Shinichi nearly died at Kaito's curious question. He slowly looked over at Ran, waiting for her reply.

"Oh, Shinichi? Kudou Shinichi, have you heard of him?" Ran answered, looking supremely unconcerned.

Kaito cocked his head quizzically, motioning for Ran to continue. Even from his height two feet below them, Shinichi could see the blaze of curiosity and slightly calculation locked in the man's indigo eyes.

It was a look that meant definite trouble for Shinichi.

_Oh God, _Shinichi thought. _This is bad. Really bad. I should've never thought avoiding this would be a breeze. _He racked his mind, trying to find some unsuspicious way to manuver out of the dangerous situation. Coming up short, Shinichi was forced to watch as Ran elaborated.

"He's a pretty well known teenage detective. He's a mystery freak and an idiot, but he's still a good person," she described, a small smile growing on her face. "He seems cold sometimes, but he's always watching out for me. I really..." Ran let out a little sigh, now positively beaming. "He's just... amazing."

Struck speechless, Shinichi stared at his childhood friend, feeling himself starting to blush. _I never knew she thought so highly of me..._

Glancing over at Kaito, Shinichi was surprised to see him wearing a dark expression. "I see," he said with more than a hint of a chill, and Shinichi recoiled, quirking an eyebrow.

_What's wrong with him?_

* * *

**So I hit #20. Considering whether or not to stop now.**


	21. Get Up

"So... he's... really amazing," stuttered Ran, looking vaguely confused at Kaito's reaction. "We've... I... um."

Kaito's expression lightened a few degrees. "Oh, don't worry about me," he assured with a laugh that sounded forced to Shinichi's ears. "I'm not mad at you, I swear. I'm just thinking about, ah, something else."

"Is that so...?" Ran's eyebrows lifted, and she seemed to be at a loss for words.

Professor Agasa took the momentary lapse in conversation to interject, "I don't mean to force either of you, but..."

Shinichi glanced over in shock, realizing his intentions. "You don't mean -" he stammered lowly, but the professor only gave him an apologetic grin before continuing on.

"My house isn't exactly in the best shape right now, and it's definitely not safe enough for a child right now, so would either you, Kuroba-kun, or you, Ran-kun, mind taking care of Conan-kun?"

_You did not. _Shinichi felt an urge to kill something.

Meanwhile, Ran was nodding ecstatically. "That sounds like a great idea! I'd love to take care of Conan-kun!"

_No! She'll figure out it's _me_! _Shinichi was about to get up and vocally protest despite that it might give him away, but Kaito effectively cut in.

"I wouldn't mind taking care of Conan-kun either," he admitted, crossing his arms across his chest nonchalantly.

* * *

**So. I'm going to attempt to bring this back. Trying to make a bit more progress in the storyline now.**


	22. Villain

At the very suggestion, Ran's expression changed, becoming somewhat indifferent. "You want to take care of Conan-kun?"

Kaito shrugged nonchalantly, grinning. _What the hell am I even _saying_? _I'll_ take care of the weird, too-mature kid?_ He wasn't sure what the hell he was really suggesting or if he actually even _wanted _to take custody of Conan, but all he knew was that he didn't want the kid to go with Ran. Not just because Kaito had some, er, _fascination_ with him, but also because judging from Conan's freaked-out expression, Conan didn't want to stay with Ran either.

"He seems like a pretty well-behaved kid," Kaito said aloud, and Ran outright _glared_ at him (how rude!) like he was some kind of obviously evil villain intent on kidnapping Conan.

"Sure, but don't you find it strange that a guy would want to take care of a kid? Usually that's not how it goes," she remarked fiercely, hurrying over to press a very startled Conan against her chest protectively. "It makes you think that you have... _ulterior _motives."

Kaito's eyebrows jerked up at what exactly she was attempting to imply.

"Are you trying to suggest that I'm a pedophile?!" he half-yelled, disturbed and irritated.

**Yes, Kaito, that's exactly what she's trying to suggest. (And she's partially right.) *runs away cackling madly***


End file.
